Umar Danbatta, the executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), has said that diligent implementation of various telecommunication policies, strategies and regulatory frameworks, is positively impacting Nigeria’s economic and social progress.
Danbatta stated this at a two-day international conference of the Association of Media and Communication Researchers of Nigeria (AMCRON), which ended at the weekend.
He spoke on the theme, “influence of communication policies on digital revolution in Nigeria.” According to Danbatta, who was represented by NCC’s director of research and development, Ismail Adedigba, communication policies are essential blueprints and strategies for the development of information and communication technology (ICT) in a way that nudges people to harness opportunities of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).
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He explained that through diligent implementation of telecommunication policies, which have triggered digital revolution, the media and entire field of mass communication have been impacted through innovations that have revolutionised production and consumption of mass communication contents, making communication easily accessible and affordable.
Danbatta, while tracing the trajectory of growth in the telecoms industry from 1960 till date, said the past decades have witnessed formulation of various policies and laws for developing the industry, but that remarkable growth in the sector started after the sector’s liberalisation in 2001.
He said through diligent implementation of policies and strategic regulatory frameworks by the NCC, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders in the industry, there has been increased access to digital services and the media industry is being shaped in terms of patterns of information dissemination through multiple platforms.
“Today, the active telecom subscribers have grown significantly to 212.2 million from about 400,000 aggregate telephone lines in the country as of 2000, on the eve of liberalisation. This represents a teledensity of 111 percent. Basic internet subscriptions grew from zero ground to 152.7 million now, while broadband subscriptions stand at over 86 million, representing a 45.09 percent penetration as of July 2022.
